When I finished our basement I told my wife that half of it would be closed off for my layout room. That was 5 years ago. I’ve had several ideas that have come and gone. But there was one thing that I miss/lack. RUNNING ROOM. I’ve taken other published track plans and modified them but they lack the running time that I want. I tried the 2% rise but the short length of my benchwork I could never get it to a second level. Recently I’ve thought about a helix. I’d like a walkaround. My room is 26ftX16.5ft however on the east wall is the HVAC room that measures 5.5ftX8ft. In the southwest corner is a closet that has the water meter that measures 3ftX18in. I really dont want a duck under, but more of a lift out or swing out entry. I model HO and really dont have a specific style i’m commited to. I have a modest assortment of power and rolling stock. If anyone who has an eye for creating good track plans, you can email me at wll_richardson@yahoo.com and I’ll email you the room layout drawing. Please Help. wife gave me 5 years to get something permanent!
You told your wife ? hmmm , we all say we tell our wives but in reality we discuss. At least the smart ones do. Divorce and child support are really expensive. I know one guy who is paying $1800 a month. Multiply that by 18 years. I asked him if the girl friend worth it ? Thats a lot of cabbage . Train question - cannot e-mail you right now - Have you considered a couple of switch backs to increase the length of your run ?
Point well taken, however If I didnt make that request I would have no place for my hobby. I dont really ask her for much next to nothing. She has her hobbies and I have mine. She doesnt really support my hobby but I do have the MAN CAVE! Look forward to hearing from you!
Thats a fairily large room you have there. You should be able to come up with a workable plan for it. Have you thought about a Nolix? What about a mushroom design? Failing those, a helix could work as well. Thats the route I went, and my room is only 10.5’x15’, though I am in N scale.
Sounds like you and your lady have come to a good understanding. Non-railroading wives generally don’t care much for the water heater, HVAC and metering equipment rooms, or for caves without windows, so you’ve got a good place to work on a layout. Quite a bit of space, too.
Generally, the most efficient use of space is to build the layout around the walls, about 2 to 2 1/2 feet wide. This maximizes your main line length, while still giving you reach-across access to the entire space. You are blessed with enough room that you can consider options to this basic U-shaped layout.
First, you need to decide whether you prefer a point-to-point layout or a continuous-loop layout. The first is for those who enjoy prototype operations and switching, while the second is for those who like to “rail fan” and watch trains. Of course, there’s nothing that says you can’t enjoy watching your trains run on your point-to-point, or that you can’t do switching on a continuous-loop layout, but that’s the general idea of these two different styles.
For a continous loop, you need a larger space at each end to build a loop of track to turn around on a U-shaped layout. However, if you build a duck-under, swing-gate or liftoff at the doorway, you can accomplish the same thing by running your tracks through the doorway and thus running all the way around the room.
The large center area of your room offers other options. You could build a “peninsula” or two out from the layout perimeter, to give you either a longer “detour” or to provide a dead-end space for an engine terminal or a yard.
First, though, make up a drawing of the room, to scale. Include the doorway, of course, and all of the obstructions that you’ll have to work around. Think about access to things like the water heater, both in terms of routine maintenance and (hopefully not) replacement. Look at any windows, and
Troopersmokey,
With eight square feet less than what you have, this is what I’m working on:
My goal was to have as much double-track main line as possible, with no lift-outs or duckunders. Main line run as approx. 180 ft. and the staging yard will hold four trains (two in each direction) with two run-through tracks. The red indicates aisle space. The water meter is near the north west corner of the room, the chimney and heating unit is on the south edge of the drawing, and space beyond that is for other uses such as laundry, wood shop, workbench, etc.
The “blob” at the north west corner has a curve (A-B)that is a bit too tight for full-length passenger cars, so to expand that area I’m going to have to build over the water meter and add a duckunder or lift-out for access.
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many years ago there was an MR article, “Stacked main lines for more mileage” in which the author had the train start on one side of his railroad and make a complete loop of the room before emerging on the next wall. This was repeated for each of the walls. In other words to be seen once going around the room he had to make four complete revolutions. Now that won’t appeal to some people because thevtrain is hidden for long periods but it does substantailly lengthen the run and allows trains to meet and pass at the various visible portions.
Nice room… the LION has a 24’x27’ room. Run three levels across the back 40’.
Takes me a fairly long time to run a train down and back up again. But then, the LION is running a Subway train that must stop every few feet. Still, the LION has about 800’ of track on this layout.
